Alexandria Gazette & Daily Advertiser

Congressional Proceedings.
From the National Intelligencer.
Thursday, January 24.

IN SENATE.

Caesar A. Rodney, a Senator from the State of Delaware, appeared this day, was qualified, and took his seat.

Mr. Holmes, of Maine, from the committee on Finance, to whom was referred a memorial from the President and Directors of the Bank of the U. States, reported a bill to amend the charter of the Bank, [authorizing the Bank to appoint an Agent and a Register to sign and countersign the notes of the Bank: and making it penal for any of the officers or servants of the Bank to defraud it or embezzle any of its funds or property.] The bill was passed to a second reading.

Mr. Thomas, agreeably to notice given by him on Monday last, asked and obtained leave, and introduced a bill to authorize the Legislature of Illinois to open a canal through the public land, to connect the Illinois river with Lake Michigan: and the bill was read.

The following resolution, submitted by Mr. Ruggles on Tuesday, was taken up and agreed to:

Resolved, That the Secretary of State be requested to transmit to the Senate the returns of manufacturing establishments and manufactures taken by the marshals of the several States, under the act of the 14th of March, 1820, "providing for taking the fourth census or enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States, and for other purposes."

On motion of Mr. Noble, the committee on Pensions were discharged from the further consideration of the petition of Ebenezer Williams.

The following resolution, offered yesterday by Mr. Johnson, of Louisiana, was taken up for consideration:

Resolved, That the committee on Naval Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing by law for the building of an additional number of sloops of war for the protection of the commerce of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico: and into the propriety of employing one or more of the frigates or ships of war of the United States for the same purpose.

Mr. Pleasants thought the designation of sloops of war would confine the scope of the inquiry within too narrow limits, particularly as he presumed a smaller class of vessels would be more suitable for the object in view. He should prefer an inquiry into the expediency of building an additional number of small vessels of war, without designating the size. Mr. P. had an objection, also, to the latter part of the resolution, which directs that a part of the naval force be employed in a particular service; because it would be interfering with the proper action of the Executive authority, whose province it is to direct in what manner the naval force shall be employed. Mr. P. moved to amend the resolution conformably to the ideas he had suggested.

Mr. Johnson, of Louisiana, had no objection to the first modification, to substitute "small vessels" for "sloops of war;" but, as to the second proposition, he was not so certain of its propriety, inasmuch as if it was deemed proper to employ a part of the naval force on this special service, an appropriation would be necessary to carry the object into effect.

Mr. Pleasants remarked that the President of the United States had the power of employing the naval force in any manner he might think proper: and if an extraordinary service of any part of the navy was deemed necessary, by any gentleman, the proper time for the inquiry would be when the annual appropriation for the naval service comes under consideration.

Mr. Johnson said, as the Chairman of the Naval Committee seemed to think the object could be attained without embracing it in the present inquiry, he would assent to the amendments proposed.

Mr. D'Wolf observed, that five or six additional small vessels were certainly very much wanted to protect the commerce of the nation on the coast of Cuba, and elsewhere among the islands, but, as the expediency of increasing the navy by building additional vessels might be doubted; and as a sufficient number of suitable vessels might, at present, very probably be purchased; he suggested the propriety of changing the inquiry into one for providing by purchase an additional number of small vessels.

Mr. Otis suggested the propriety of simplifying the resolution into an inquiry of providing by purchase or otherwise, an additional number of small vessels, "for the better protection of the commerce of the United States" An expression of the object in terms so general as this, he thought would not trench on the province of the Executive.

Mr. Johnson, for the purpose of accommodating the views of the different gentlemen, while it would answer the object he had in view, modified his motion to read as follows:

Resolved, That the committee on Naval Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing by law for the building or purchase of an additional number of small vessels of war, for the protection of the commerce of the U. States.

In this form the resolution was agreed to.

A communication was laid before the Senate by the President, from the Secretary of State, transmitting the returns of the Census, in Kershaw District, in South Carolina.

The resolution proposing an amendment in relation to the election of Electors of President, &c. was, on motion of Mr. Dickerson, referred to a select committee, for the purpose of considering the amendment proposed thereto, when last under consideration; and Messrs. Dickerson, Lloyd, Benton, Brown, of Ohio, and Holmes, of Maine, were appointed on the committee.

The Senate then again resumed the consideration of the bill to grant to the state of Louisiana the pre-emption right to two tracts of land in the county of Point Coupee, for the use of the people of said county--an amendment being still pending, which had been heretofore offered by Mr. Van Dyke, to convey the land to the state by gift instead of sale.

Much debate again took place on this subject, embracing chiefly the questions heretofore stated, &--the question whether the land should be given or sold to the state. Messrs. Brown and Johnson of Lou. spoke to show the necessity there was that the state should own the lands, and in favor of a decision without further delay, indifferent whether they were sold, or whether the pittance which they were worth should be granted gratuitously. Messrs. Lloyd, Lanman, Van Dyke, Thomas, and Chandler, also joined in the debate. In the end.

The amendment proposed by Mr Van Dyke, was negatived. Ayes 19, Noes 24.

Mr. Chandler then moved to strike out the 2d section, which is in the following words:

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That all the right and claim of the U. States to a tract of land in the county of Point Coupee, and state of Louisiana, containing forty arpents on the Mississippi river, and forty arpents back, at a remarkable bend in the river, about seven miles above the court house for said county, being the same on which the Great Levee is situated, be, and the same hereby is, vested in, and conveyed to, the Governor of the State of Louisiana, for the time being, & his successors in the same office, in trust & for the sole use & benefit of the people of the county of Point Coupee, forever, for the purpose of enabling them to repair and to keep up the said Levee, without molestation: Provided, however, That this act shall not affect the claim or claims of any individual or individuals, if any such there be.

Much debate followed on this motion, in which Messrs. Morril, Chandler, and Lanman, supported, and Messrs. Johnson, of Lou. Walker, Brown, and Otis, opposed the amendment. It was finally decided in the negative by the following vote:

YEAS--Messrs. Boardman, Chandler, Dickerson, Lanman, Macon, Morril, Rodney, Smith--8.

NAYS--Messrs. Barton, Benton, Brown, of Lou, Brown, of Ohio, D'Wolf Eaton, Edwards, Elliott, Findlay, Gaillard, Holmes, of Maine, Holmes, of Miss. Johnson, of Ky. Johnson of Lou. King, of N. Y. Knight Lloyd, Lowrie Mills, Noble, Otis, Parrott, Pleasants Ruggles, Seymour, Southard, Stokes, Talbot, Taylor, Thomas, Van Buren, Van Dyke, Walker, Ware, Williams of Miss. Williams of Tenn.--36.

The bill was then ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.

Mr. Morril, from the Committee of Claims, reported a bill for the relief of Ebenezer Stevens; which was read:

The bill providing for the transfer of certain certificates, passed though a Committee of the Whole, (in which its object and necessity were explained by Mr. Otis,) and was ordered to a third reading.

The Senate adjourned

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Among the petitions presented this morning were several by Mr. Stewart, from the citizens of the state of Pennsylvania, praying for the aid of Congress towards the improvement of the navigation of the Potomac, also, a memorial from certain citizens of Dorchester, Mass. against the passage of a bankrupt law:

Mr. Johnson, of Ky. from the committee on the Post Office and Post Roads, reported unfavorably upon the petition of Erastus Granger; which report was, on motion of Mr. Cockling laid on the table.

Mr. Cannon rose to call the attention of the house to a resolution submitted by him some weeks ago, and now lying on the table. It would be recollected, he said that, on the reduction of the army by Congress at the last session, a different organization had been given to it by the Senate than was proposed by a large majority of the house--which change, he believed, would not have received the sanction of a majority of the house, but for the lateness of the period at which the bill, with this amendment, was returned from the Senate The difference of the expense of maintaining the military establishment as at present organized, Mr. C. said, was vastly greater than it would have been if otherwise organized He had, for the information of the House, made an estimate, not only of the amount of public money which would be saved by re-organizing of the army, but also of the probable number of officers that would be discharged if the army should be re-organized according to the resolution which he had moved, and now meant to call up. Mr. C. here proceeded to state that, should Congress pursue the course which he proposed, the total number of officers of each grade disbanded, including both Infantry and Artillery, and excluding the General Staff. would be--
5 Colonels, salary of $2,400 each.
5 Lieut. Colonels $2,148.
5 Majors $1,860.
15 Field Officers in all
5 Regimental Qr Masters, $849 per annum
5 Sergeant Majors, $849 do.
5 Q. M. Sergeants, $849 do.
5 Adjutants, $120 additional taken from line.
5 Paymasters. $1908 per annum.
25 of the Regimental Staff.
53 Captains--35 of Infantry, $1044 per annum, and 18 of Artillery, $1428 per annum.
71 First Lieut.--35 of Infantry, $849, and 36 of Artillery, at $1176 per annum
72 Second Lieut. -35 of Infantry. $513, and 36 of Artillery, at $1176 per annum.
195 Commissioned officers of companies and 549 Sergeants, Corporals, Artificers, and Musicians, at an average of $300 each per annum.
Making an aggregate number of 784 Officers to be disbanded, being surplus officers over the number which would be necessary when the army was properly organized. The whole amount per annum saved by this re-organization, would be $428,247 96, leaving out of view the reduction of the General Staff, which, if included by a proportionate reduction, or that fixed on by the House last session, would augment the annual saving by the reorganization to at least 450,000 dollars.

Mr. C. said, he had not risen for the purpose of making a long argument on the subject--it could not be denied that a large number of officers were now in the service who could render any service to the organized government or rather, inasmuch as disorganized as an army, or rather inasmuch as the government without having any duty whatever to perform--that is being in the employment of the government without having any duty to perform. The resolution proposing merely an inquiry, he hoped there would be no opposition to it. Perhaps other changes in the organization of the army might be thought necessary, particularly the consolidation of the ordinance with the artillery. If so, he hoped the military committee would report accordingly.

The House having agreed to consider the resolution, in the following words:

Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of re-organizing the regular army, (so that companies into different corps contain the number of non-commissioned officers and privates they did previous to the reduction and organization made under the act of the last session of Congress:) and that said committee inquire into the expediency of disbanding the supernumerary officers, and reducing the general staff.

Mr. Cocke said, he had rather that the resolution should not confine the committee to any specific alteration in the army. Let the committee, said he, have the subject referred to them generally: they can then examine every branch of the service and make such alterations as the public interest may require. The committee might feel disposed to disband a part of the officers, and retain a part. But, if the resolution passed in its present shape, the committee would be precluded from taking such a course. He hoped his friend would alter the resolution so as to bring forth the whole subject fully before the military committee.

Mr. Cannon said, that his object was to bring the whole subject fully before the committee. He had no wish to limit its inquiries, having the highest confidence in them, that they would make such report as the good of the service and the situation of the country require. He therefore modified his motion, so as to make the proposed inquiry general.

Thus modified, the resolution was agreed to.

On motion of Mr. Hubbard, it was

Resolved, That the Committee on Pensions and Revolutionary Claims be instructed to inquire into the expediency of increasing the pension of Wardwell Green and also, of making the same to commence at a period anterior to the date of the pension heretofore granted to him.

On motion of Mr. Hobart, the House agreed to consider the resolution submitted by him on a former day, calling for information in respect to the Post Office Department. Mr. Walworth withdrew the amendment which he had proposed thereto, and the resolution was adopted.

Mr. Buchanan submitted for consideration the following resolution:

Resolved, That a committee be appointed, whose duty it shall be to inquire and report to this house the causes why no part of the sum of 243,609 dollars and 41 cents the amount imposed as fines by courts martial held under the authority of the United States on militiamen within the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for delinquencies which occurred during the late war with Great Britain, has yet been received into the Treasury; how much of the said sum has been collected from the delinquents by the late Marshal and the present Marshals of Pennsylvania and their deputies, respectively, and what are the names and places of residence of such deputies; how much of the money collected remains in the hands of the deputies, and how much has been paid over by them to their respective principals; who are the sureties of the late Marshal John Smith and his deputies, respectively; what is the amount of their bonds and what the prospect of recovering the whole or any part thereof; and what causes have heretofore prevented the collection of the money remaining in their hands; and whether suits have been instituted against the said John Smith, his deputies and their sureties, respectively; and under what authority, by whom and to whom, the sum of 41,631 cents the said fines to defray the expences of the Courts Martial by which they were assessed.

In offering this resolution, Mr. Buchanan said, it was not with any desire to give trouble and cast reflections upon any officer of the government--a sense of duty and not any thing else impelled him to bring before this house the subject from the delinquent militiamen in Pennsylvania. He would, he said, state the facts connected with it, and which were so many reasons why the resolution should be adopted.

The state of Pennsylvania during the late war furnished her full proportion of men and of money to the general government to enable them to carry on the war, and also furnished a large number of volunteers and militia. It however happened, owing to the peaceful habits of the People of that state, that there occurred, in obtaining the number of men required by draft, a number of delinquencies, which, from the scrupulous mode of bearing arms, or from other causes, were greater than in any other state. deficiencies; which were more than made up by volunteers. It followed, therefore, that most ample manner, all her federal obligations. Yet there was a very large proportion of militiamen. From the letter of the Secretary of War, it appeared that out of nine states, on the citizens of which militia fines were assessed, and from eight of which returns have been received, the fines assessed on citizens of Pennsylvania amount to a larger sum than all the fines assessed on the citizens of seven of the states: On New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Kentucky, East Tennessee, West Tennessee, New York, Maryland, Virginia--not altogether, within the years 1813, 1814 and 1815; and, strange and wonderful as it may appear, not one cent of that large amount assessed on citizens of Pennsylvania has yet reached the Treasury of the United States. It is within my own knowledge, said Mr. B. that very large sums of this money have been collected by the deputy marshals, and much distress has been spread over the country in levying these fines from the poorer classes of the citizens within our state. It is very natural that every state in the Union, particularly Pennsylvania, should be anxious to have the darkness which hangs over this subject dispelled, and the guilty agents exposed to the light of day. It is possible that by an investigation something may be obtained; if not, the authors of the shameful frauds which have been perpetrated will be dragged from the concealment in which they now lurk. On the 4th Dec. 1820, at the instance of a gentleman from Pennsylvania, a resolution was passed by this house calling on the secretary of the treasury for information on the subject, which for some cause or other remained unanswered, but on the 21st Jan. 1821, was renewed. And, said Mr. B., what answer has been given to it? It consists of six clauses answers to which would embrace all the information we desire. The answer to the 1st is the letter from the present Marshal, which Mr. B. read; from which he said, it appeared that almost 5 years had been suffered to expire since this communication, and it does not appear that any measures have been taken to secure the books and papers. The department could therefore communicate no information on the subject. The second question, how much money had been received into the treasury, on account of these fines, was easily answered: not a cent had been received. The third query the department is unable to answer, except that $3671 30 in the hands of the present marshal; and $3546 60 in the hands of Lewis Deffebach, one of his deputies in Bucks county. The 4th query, as to the names of the deputies and the sureties of the marshal, was not answered. Indeed, it appeared that the department never either inquired or knew who were the sureties of the marshal, or who were his deputies or sureties. It appeared further, that no action had ever yet been instituted against the marshal or his deputies on these bonds, except against one of the deputies. The object, therefore Mr. B. said, of his resolution, was to obtain the information which the former vote of the house had failed to procure. &c. &c. The motion of Mr. B. was read, and, according to the rule of the house, lies on the table for one day. Mr. Sterling of N. Y. offered for consideration the following resolution: Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed to report to this house the number of land offices established by law in the different States and Territories, designating the number and location in each State and Territory, the annual expense to the nation of supporting said land offices, the amount of money received at each during the years 1820 and 1821, and whether, in his opinion, the public good requires the increase or diminution of said land offices, or any alteration in the location of the same; and if any increase is required, in what State or Territory the same ought to be located. This resolve lies over one day by rule.